Exercise
Program
The
exercise program you choose depends
entirely on your fitness goals. The exercises you will be doing and the
approach you take in performing these exercises will depend on whether
you wish to gain muscle and strength, tone and lose weight or just stay
in shape and be healthy. I will briefly describe a sample exercise
program
which can be adapted for all people regardless of your age or fitness
objectives.
If
you are looking to build muscle
or strength via a bodybuilding routine, stick to 4-5 sets of 10-12
repetitions.
Focus on the positive and negative of each movement of each repetition.
Gradually
increase the weight as you work out to force your muscles to work.
Otherwise
your muscles will become programmed, accustomed to the same weight and
you will no longer experience any gains. There are many approaches and
techniques that can be used in bodybuilding. Experiment and use the
best
one that fits you. An excellent book about weight training and
bodybuilding
which discusses many different techniques to working out is The
Weider System of Bodybuilding.
If
you are looking to tone or just
stay in shape and be healthy, an exercise program combining weight
training
and a cardiovascular workout is appropriate for you. When you are
exercising
with weights, 3-4 sets of 12-15 repetitions at a reasonable weight
would
be appropriate. Combine this with a some cardio exercise 1-2 times a
week
such as riding an exercise bike or elliptical machine or by joining
classes
at your gym. It is difficult to show on this web page in great detail
exactly
what you should be doing. For custom exercise programs I highly
recommend Fast
Track To Fat Loss.
Here
is a sample exercise program that
can be modified to fit any person's fitness goals. Remember that you
can
change the order and incorporate different exercises for each body part
on weekly basis. I encourage this to prevent boredom and your body
getting
used to the same routine.
Before
beginning your workout, you
should warm up for 5 - 10 minutes on an exercise bike or treadmill.
This
will prevent you from pulling muscles or injuring yourself. For a
cool-down,
you can perform stretching exercises.
Day 1
Back:
Behind
the neck lateral pulldown 3-5
sets 10 - 15 repetitions
Seated
pulley rowing 3-5 sets 10 -
15 repetitions
Lateral
pulldown with a narrow grip
3-5 sets 10 - 15 repetitions
One
arm dumbbell bent rowing 3-4 sets
10 - 12 repetitions
Triceps:
Pulley
pushdown with handle 3-5 sets
10 - 15 repetitions
Behind
the head rope triceps extension
3-5 sets 10 - 15 repetitions
Reverse-grip
pulley pushdown 3-5 sets
10 - 15 repetitions
Abdominals
and lower back floor exercises:
Crunches
3 sets of 24 repetitions
Oblique
crunches 3 sets of 16 repetitions
Lower
back extensions 2 sets of 12
repetitions
Day 2
Chest
Seated
iso wide chest bench press 3-5
sets 10 - 15 repetitions
Incline
dumbbell press 3-5 sets 10
- 15 repetitions
Cable
crossovers 3-5 sets 10 - 15
repetitions
Flyes
3-4 sets 10 - 15 repetitions
Biceps:
Seated
bicep curl
Incline
bicep dumbbell curl
Hammer
bicep curl
Cardiovascular
Exercise
Day 3
Shoulders
Seated
behind the neck shoulder press
3-4 sets 10 - 15 repetitions
Upright
cable rowing 3-5 sets 10 -
15 repetitions
Dumbbell
side lateral 3-5 sets 10
- 15 repetitions
Arnold
press 3-4 sets 10 - 15 repetitions
Forearms:
Forearm
curl 3-4 sets 12-15 repetitions
Abdominals
and lower back floor exercises:
Crunches
3 sets of 24 repetitions
Oblique
crunches 3 sets of 16 repetitions
Lower
back extensions 2 sets of 12
repetitions
Day 4
Legs:
Leg
extensions 4 sets, 12-15 repetitions
Leg
press 4 sets, 12-15 repetitions
Calf
raises 5 sets, 15 repetitions
Hamstring
curl 4 sets, 12-15 repetitions
Abdominals
and lower back floor exercises:
Crunches
3 sets of 24 repetitions
Oblique
crunches 3 sets of 16 repetitions
Cardiovascular
Exercise
These
are just general workout guidelines.
You really need to consider what ideally suits you best. If you need
more
help or for customized
exercise programs click here.
